The Kartoss Gambit (The Way of the Shaman: Book #2)

by Vasily Mahanenko

  "Yes, thank you for your help."

  "Then I'm off. Good bye!"

  Well, I'll be! Some 'favour' Reptilis did me, the underkicked croc! Four months of waiting for the quest to reset! Good bye Elemental Shaman! Why is everything so crappy?

  "Key!" The last words I must have said aloud, because the Dragonkin was at it again.

  "I have no key. You can relax and go home now. Show's over"

  The Dragonkin, like some obedient pony, turned around and entered the house. What to do? Go back? My spirits were so low that I wanted to howl. Why didn't I listen to Kornik and fly with him for the Totem? Decided I was smarter than everyone else, did I? After imagining the goblin's mocking eyes when I went back to him with my head hanging low, my spirits seemed to hit rock bottom.

  Knowing that there was nothing left for me to do except return to Beatwick, I decided to make Anastaria's present. I had to make the Chess anyway, so why not do it right here? I had all the needed tools with me, as well as the holograms, and I didn't have to take any notice of the Dragonkin. Perhaps I'll raise my spirits at least a little this way. That settled, I sat down right on the grass and took out the holograms sent by Hellfire — the representatives of Phoenix and the Dark Legion and leading players of our continent. When the last image was copied to memory, I switched to the design mode. I was feeling so damn awful...

  I immediately discarded four images of players from each clan, which for some reason were grey in my mind. If they were grey, it meant I didn't need them. I began to make the figurines from the ones that remained. Anastaria was, of course, the Queen. As soon as I pictured her in a mantle, with a crown, an up-turned proud chin and a haughty gaze, the image of the lady paladin started to flow, dissolved and then appeared in the form of the figurine I was aiming for, surrounded with a bright glow. The first was done. The image of Hellfire just refused to be formed into a King. The crown just didn't suit him and I put him aside and moved on to other figurines. Knights, Bishops, all the eight pawns and one Rook came together right away. Only two images and two pieces remained — a King and a Rook. Strange. For some reason I thought that Hellfire should be the King, but an unassuming and inconspicuous gnome, was wryly looking at me from the picture, as if asking: 'Try me!' All right. If he's asking, we'll have to go with it. I looked at the player's name: Ehkiller the Invisible. The name didn't mean anything to me, but there were no other options left, so I had to try him. If he fits, I hope Hellfire won't kill me.

  He fit. As soon as I imagined Ehkiller with a crown and a cape, his image began to flow and took the shape of the King I was looking for. Strange — why him? Why not Hellfire — who without further ado turned into a Rook? I'll put it down to artistic license.

  Things weren't exactly straight-forward with the Seconds either. Plinto simply wouldn't become the King, try as I might. Going by previous experience I tried to make him a Rook, but that didn't fit him as well. That's just crazy. Knight, Bishop, Queen — were all wrong. Only the pawns remained. Even in the design mode, where the consciousness was completely separated from the body, I swallowed. If Plinto finds out that I made him into a pawn, the Seconds will put me on their black list with everything that entailed. I hope that Anastaria will have a chuckle at the hint and won't inform that unbalanced person of the fact. The place of the King was taken by another player whose name was also not particularly known. And the Queen turned out to be the player that I saw with Plinto. I wasn't sure I knew what I was doing anymore.

  When all the sixteen figurines took their places I exited the design mode, took Lapis and Malachite out of the bag, but right before re-immersing myself saw the Dragonkin right next to me. What could he want now?

  The stones didn't present much of a problem. They had the same shape, so after forming one stone in my mind, I reproduced it in eight pieces of Lapis and eight pieces of Malachite. Just before combining the projections of the figurines with the stones I decided to add a few slight improvements. I tried to give all the Phoenix figurines proud and brave demeanour, but in the majority of cases the figurines acquired an air of arrogance, as if the rest of the world owed them. Only Rick, who spoke with me today, retained a human face. I made the Seconds look more fierce and angry. If they are to be green, let them resemble orcs. The result was quite interesting — only the King and the Queen failed to undergo this metamorphosis. The features of the other figurines became distorted with such fury, that it looked that they were the ones who owed Phoenix and had to pay it back this very second, but were all tapped out. So be it, then. Another instance of artistic license.

  After tweaking their appearance, I combined the figurine projections with the stones and opened my eyes. Done. When I get to Farstead, I'll send the figurines to Hellfire. If he asked for them so insistently, I had to grant his wish. 'Happy Birthday', Anastaria, you'll have to find a chessboard for them yourself. Damn, I couldn't help feeling pleased after making something with my hands. And then I was completely overwhelmed by the excess of pleasure:

  Item created: Cursed Chess of Balance.

  Description: This has no precedent in Malabar's history: the first ever binding of an object to a particular player. From this point on a close bond shall exist between the players of the Phoenix and the Dark Legion clans. Every three weeks, the players represented as Kings in the Chess Set must play against each other until a winner is declared. If one of the Kings is offline, he is to be replaced by the Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook or Pawn. Duration of the game: two hours. If no winner is declared in the course of the game, it shall be considered void. The item is uniquely identified with its creator: Mahan.

  Depending on the results of the game played with the Cursed Chess, all the players represented on the board shall receive:

  Three-week buffs in case of a win: +10% to all the main stats.

  Three-week debuffs in case of a loss: -10% to all the main stats.

  Three-week debuffs if the game was voided: -20% to all the main stats.

  Item class: Unique, cannot be destroyed. The binding to the players is now complete. All the bound players have been informed about the creation of the Cursed Chess of Balance.

  Attention! This item cannot be repeated. There is no recipe.

  You created a unique item. Your reputation with all previously encountered factions has increased by 200.

  Skill increase:

  +1 to Crafting. Total: 4.

  +3 to Jewelcrafting. Total: 22.

  You have received the title 'The Cursed Artificer'.

  I swallowed after reading the message. I'm screwed. If before I had some chance of avoiding punishment for depicting Hellfire as a Rook and Plinto as a Pawn, having created a chess set like that, I doomed the clans to eternal strife. They'll never forgive me this, even if I was a member of one of these clans. Who asked me to craft anything in such a mood? And what's that?

  Item acquired: The Key to Dragons. Description: Ancient, as the world itself, Dragons always honoured beauty and uniqueness. After leaving this world, the Dragons instructed the guards that only those worthy should be granted passage to them. You have met their condition for obtaining the Key to the Dragons by creating a unique item in front of the Guard. Congratulations!

  There was a flash and a small iron key appeared in my hand.

  "Key!" rumbled the Dragonkin who stood next to me, pointing to my hand.

  "Here you go," I handed over the piece of ironware.

  Item acquired: Scroll of teleportation to Dragons. On use: transports you to the place where Dragons live.

  After receiving the key and handing over the scroll, the Dragonkin gave a pleased snort and trudged off to the house, completely forgetting I was there. That was that: now I'll activate the scroll and receive the Totem. I can't wait any longer.

  The clap of the opening portal made me start. I turned to the sound and saw a smiling man dressed all in white. It was a Herald.

  "Good day, Mahan. I hope I will not detain you too long. Let's get straight to business. Let me c
ongratulate you on creating such an interesting artefact. You have become the fourth free citizen of Barliona and the first on our continent to create a binding item. The Emperor sent me to you to exchange the created figurines and bring them to the palace. The chess match will be overseen by him personally. The participants will be compulsorily transported for the game."

  "Exchange? For what?" I picked up my ears. The Emperor's goodwill is worth a lot in Barliona.

  "These are the words not of a boy, but a man. I was very much afraid that you would have to be persuaded by being told of the dangers of keeping the Chess in your possession. What is the Emperor offering? First — unimpeded access to the external gardens of his castle. Second — his personal ring. And, of course, his personal regard for such an interesting master."

  I did well in managing to stay on my feet, although the Hamster fell on his back and was not showing any signs of life. And it wasn't even the access to the palace garden or the ring that got me so excited. These things were also hard to get, but not entirely impossible. I was more blown away by the 'personal regard' of the Emperor. This could mean only one thing — reputation. Keeping in mind that I have the wonderful ability to increase my reputation by five units daily, in a couple of years my character could level up his reputation with the Emperor. And this means free entry to the castle! That was the silver lining of me creating these Chess.

  "I agree. Here you go," I handed over the figurines to the Herald.

  Your reputation with the Shaman Council has increased by 100 points. You are 900 points away from the status of Friendly. The reputation with the Malabar Emperor cannot be increased on account of the 'First Kill' Achievement.

  Item acquired: The Ring of the Emperor. Description: The person presenting this ring is acting on my instructions and for the good of Malabar. Number of uses: 1.

  "Thank you and until we meet again. According to the rules, you, as the creator of the Chess, are obliged to the present at the first game, which is set to take place in three days' time. Your presence will be hidden, so as not to break the concentration of the clan Kings. Good bye! One of us will drop by to get you three days from now."

  The Herald opened a portal and disappeared and I was left staring stupidly at the indulgence in my hands. He's really more of a 'Richelieu' than an Emperor. Now whatever I did, even if I killed someone, I would not be sent back to the mines. I have a one-time 'get out of jail card'. Great, I'll have to use it wisely.

  "Hello," I responded to the sudden throbbing of the communication amulet.

  "Mahan, is this some kind of a sick joke? What are you doing, you dumbass?" I would have never thought that such a beautiful girl could scream like that.

  "And good day to you too, Anastaria. Aren't you supposed to be offline?"

  "What offline? What have you created? What the hell are these 'Cursed Chess'? Have you completely lost it in that Beatwick backwater?"

  "Anastaria, let me explain...."

  "You have two hours to get the chess pieces to me. I have to figure them out. If I don't get the chess — I will officially declare you the enemy of the Phoenix clan. Understood?"

  "I don't have the figurines. The Herald took them — at the request of the Emperor."

  "The Emperor?"

  "Yeah. A Herald ported in, rewarded me with the permission to enter the external palace garden and a hundred reputation with the Emperor, took the Chess off me and left." And you can stop screaming at me — Hellfire asked for the pieces as a present for you. Happy birthday! Upcoming birthday, anyhow."

  "How dare you?!"

  "Stacey, in all honesty, I had enough of this! Let's talk openly — what do you want? When I was asking for your help, you didn't even deign to speak to me and handed me over to Rick. And now you call me up and scream your head off. Some great analyst you are, the brain of Phoenix and all that. Let's stop beating about the bush."

  “Mahan! You... you..."

  "Yes, me! How long can you keep pulling at the cat's tail? What do you want?"

  "The Orc Warrior figurines. I know that you have them."

  "And what will I get in return?"

  "The position of the Master in Phoenix."

  "Not interested. Experience shows that I can manage pretty well on my own too. I will create my own clan."

  "What do you want?"

  "Wrong question. What can you offer? If I got it right, since the creation of the Orc Warriors up until this moment, no-one managed to create the Dwarves. Therefore, either the pieces have to be created by the same player or the creator must be in possession of the previous figurines. I am sure that Rick is trying to learn Jewelcrafting as fast as he can, but getting exactly nowhere with it. Correct me if I am mistaken."

  For a while there was a silence on the other end of the amulet.

  "Can you give me a guarantee that I will get the remaining chess pieces if you create them?"

  "If we come to an agreement, then yes. A month from the time of their creation the figurines will be yours."

  Yup, I'm off and someone's cut the brakes! I was keeping my fingers crossed that I would manage to solve the puzzle contained in the new figurines within a month.

  "The Phoenix clan will take your clan under its protection. You will receive a million gold for the pieces from one stone type. Access for ten players from your clan to our clan's warehouse, where each can choose five items for themselves. Accelerated levelling of ten players from your clan to level 100 under the tutelage of our raiders. Would such an offer suit you?"

  "Quite. Drawing up an agreement?"

  "Yes, I'll draft the text now and drop it to your mailbox. You can read it at the Bank. Mahan..."

  "What?"

  "When are you planning to create your clan?"

  "As soon as I get to Anhurs. There is no registration office in Farstead."

  "Tell me, is the position of your deputy free?" asked Anastaria thoughtfully.

  "I don't understand..."

  "We'll talk later. Don't disappear, Unique Shaman."

  What a day! Did I really manage to catch the eye of the great Anastaria? Why did she ask me about the post of deputy? Could she want...?

  I habitually glanced at my return timer and whistled: I had just eight hours left. Wow! Just how long was I out for with that Cursed Chess? At this rate I may not have enough time for the Dragons. I immediately ruled out the idea of jumping to Farstead and then to Beatwick for restarting the countdown. Simply didn't feel like spending that much. I only have one portal to Farstead and one to Beatwick left. Should I go to the High Mage and buy new ones? I don't know... At the same time I felt that I'd manage it, if I just stopped dragging my feet.

  I was ready to see almost anything as I stepped through the activated portal: mountains, steppes or deep forests. But the place where I ended up in no way resembled a classical abode of Dragons: golden sand, gentle warm sunshine, palms and clear-blue sea. Breathtaking beauty! What if I just stay here, and leave Phoenix and Seconds to search all over for me?

  "My greetings to the first free citizen of Barliona to make it to this island," a low voice rumbled across the beach. "My name is Ayaretolikus, I am the keeper of the memory of Dragons."

  "Greetings. My name is Mahan, the Shaman. I bow before you, oh keeper, but can you tell me who and where you are? One feels uncomfortable speaking to thin air," looks like I've become rather bold after my last chat with Anastaria.

  "I am several kilometres within the island. Follow the road, it will take you right to me."

  Before heading off to meet the guardian I checked the map to see the location of this island.

  Attention! The use of maps is not permitted in this location.

  And that's that. Where on earth have I ended up? One thing was clear — this was an island. But an island where — the World Ocean, an inland sea or a great lake? There was a myriad of possibilities.

  Realising that I may fail to get my Totem before returning to Beatwick, I ran as fast as I could towards the guardian. T
his was no time for leisurely walks.

  "Guardian?" I ran up to the large glowing sphere, about two meters in diameter, which was effortlessly hanging a couple of meters above ground. It was some epic spectacle. Only one thing was disappointing — I was hoping to see a live Dragon instead of this ball lightning.

  The surface of the sphere vibrated and it seemed like the entire island could hear its voice:

  "I once again welcome the first free citizen of Barliona to my island. I, the Guardian of the Dragon Knowledge, ask you, traveller, why have you come here?"

  This was somewhat grandiose, but it would do.

  "Oh, Guardian of Dragon Knowledge," I decided to emulate the sphere's tone, "I have come here to incarnate my Totem."

  "Totem? You have a Dragon as a Totem?"

  "Yes, Guardian. Fate has dealt me a Dragon, but he is still very small and inexperienced."

  "No need to explain, I shall open a portal to the world of Dragons for you."

  "A world?"

  "Yes, Dragons had departed from this world forever. They dwell beyond Barliona, watching us from outside."

  "I thank you for your aid, Guardian."

  "Then go. No sense in wasting time. There's never enough of it."

  There was a clap and a portal opened next to the sphere. As I walked towards it, I couldn't help wondering about a certain detail: Kornik suggested we go to the Dragons directly. Was he able to jump between worlds, then? I have to ask him when I get the chance. The portal surrounded me with a shimmering glow and once this dissipated I realised that I've never seen mountains before in my life. What I use to call mountains were mere hills. I was looking at real Mountains now, with a 'capital letter', so to speak. There were sheer cliffs rising high into the sky, the neighbouring snow-covered peaks, lost in the clouds, and piecing wind. The scenery impressed.

  "Would you believe it? He made it," Kornik was sitting next to the spot where the portal left me, sporting an unpacked picnic basket and a protective dome.